Hi friends! Today I have an awesome debt-free story from Amber! Amber and her husband have paid off $16,000 of debt in 3 months after selling a beloved 1967 Ford Mustang. Amber is a stay-at-home mom in central Ohio. She and he husband, John, have been married for 3 years with a two year old girl, Elianna. As a family, they keep their faith central in their household, and are accomplishing some serious financial goals. I hope you enjoy their story as much as I did!
What kind of debt did you have? How much was it? And how long did it take to pay off?
When my husband and I got married, I was the one who brought debt into the marriage; I had about $16,000 in student loans from Eastern Kentucky University. When the payments started to kick in 6 months after I graduated we just started to pay a little bit more than minimum, patting ourselves on the back taking the loan pay off from about 15 years down to 12 years.
Fast forward two years and we had a baby, then moved to Ohio and bought a house; more debt had entered the equation. We also used a Lowes credit card to do some home improvements. So now we were in $117,000.00 in debt. A few months after buying the house my husband found Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University and it all took off from there.
We followed the baby steps that he lines out. We only kept $1,000 in the bank and threw the rest of our small savings onto our student loan and the Lowes credit card. To push us out of consumer debt I sold my 1967 Ford Mustang Convertible that my Dad and I fixed up when I was 15. Selling that car allowed us to be out of consumer debt and start saving for our 3-6 month emergency fund. From starting following the baby steps to getting to baby step 4, 5 and 6 took about 3 months.
Why did you decided to pay off your debt?
My husband John and I were just sick and tired of living paycheck to paycheck and not being able to save any significant amount of money! We wanted to be able to help others financially but just weren’t able to, and that was one big driving factor.
What strategies did you use to pay off your debt? What was the craziest thing you did to get out of debt?
We followed Dave Ramsey’s plan to a T. We’ve found that people are afraid of only having $1,000 in the bank when going through steps 1, 2 and 3 but it really made us focus on our goal.
The craziest thing, but defiantly something I don’t regret at all was selling my Mustang. When people ask why I sold it or say I’m crazy for selling it, I tell them debt free feels a lot better than driving that car.
How has your family been impacted by your financial journey?
One of our goals for 2017 was to be more diligent, and that was our main focus with our finances. Dave’s program and getting out of debt has been the absolute best thing for our marriage. We are now on the same page, and actually enjoy
our budget committee meeting!
What was the hardest part about getting out of debt?
The hardest part was honestly saying no to our friends and not eating out while we were trying to pay off our consumer debt and school loans.
What are your goals now that you’re debt free?
Since we are only consumer debt free, we have a goal to pay off our house in four years! My husband has a side hustle of DJing on top of being a Project Manager and I nanny to help us reach our goals.
How has your life changed by being debt free?
Our whole marriage has changed; it feels so good to be diligent with God’s money and to be able to see the end in sight is so exciting. To have a paid for house when we are 28 and 29 will be huge for allowing us to build wealth and give generously!